Today I woke up and we decided today was going to be an adventure. First to explore the new apartment real good. While we were asleep Elizabeth and Victor brought us more blankets (Thank God because it was freezing!) and a pillow. Sleeping last night I could hear then rambling and finishing up the kitchen and I just felt like I was at home sleeping with my parents still up doing stuff. They have defiantly taken over the roll as “Parents” but I think they love that and we defiantly appreciate them and everything they are doing for us!
View of the main streets close to our apartment!
They Also gave us a calendar, a town map and then was here till one am finishing up the kitchen that wasn’t finished yet. So we have a small table, a toaster, coffee maker, hot water pot, oven (No stove top) a microwave, and a refrigerator (NO FREEZER). And we have no Sink. (the sink is a tub with water to wash things) but Victor says they will be putting in a sink and a stove top soon! They only drink water out of bottles so we have lots of giant water bottles lying around everywhere and of course they do not put then in the fridge. They don’t put anything in the fridge. We stuck the milk in the fridge and some bottles of water but everything else they got us is out. So I’m sure we will get laughed at for putting everything in there, but oh well! J
I had toast with jelly and Coffee for breakfast. The coffee is dark, strong and made in a mug half the size of U.S. so it’s kind of like an espresso shot. But I don’t mind it. They bought us water, bread, jelly, apples, coffee, hot tea, chips, milk and some kind of breakfast yogurts that come in packets like we make oatmeal at home. Except we can’t figure out what the picture shows it is. Its raspberry but there is little bits that look like ham but we are not sure. J They also purchased all the plates and silverware and glasses for us to drink out of. Needless to say they are awesome! We will be going out today to buy some of our own stuff too J
I’m going to write a lot for today because I am awake and Kenra and Audrey are still sleeping so I thought I would just tell everyone everything J because I’m bored. Our apartment has one of those systems where someone wants into the building so they buzz and we can let them in by pressing a button in our apartment, well the plumber guy came and I had no idea how to work it and the poor guy didn’t speak English. I’m surprised how many people there are that are fluent in English but then again there are just as many people we have talked to that don’t know any. There is a guy that lives in this building that we talked to yesterday right when we got here to make sure we were in the right place and he didn’t speak any English, only Italian. His daughter was with him; she was about 6 and only spoke Italian and German. But everyone seems to be nice and very helpful. When we ate out yesterday at the pasta place the owner was good friends with Elizabeth and Victor, She seemed upset with us and rambled on and on (in German) because we didn’t finish out food. We were hungry but our bodies don’t understand what is going on and because of the lack of food in the past 24 hours didn’t let us eat very much. But it sure was good!
Houses in Trier
Our roommates dropped off stuff for the apartment a week ago and then went home until the 14th so we haven’t got to meet them yet or live with them but I can’t imagine how it will be like when we get 2 more people in here, this place is small enough that with us 3 it is crowded. We have a “Tankless hot water heater” in the bathroom which Elizabeth says is a privilege, 75% of Germans do not have hot water in their apartments because you have to pay extra money to have it inspected by a professional once a year and I guess it costs a lot. But she has put one in for us to have, thankfully!! The entire apartment is not heated but there are radiators in each room that we can turn on when we wish. I slept with it off but turned it on when my alarm went off this morning because it was FREEZING!
I’m setting at the table in the kitchen watching outside, I can hear the train go by every time it goes through. It’s only about ¼ mile away. The “main street” for Trier is the next street to the west and we live in the middle of the block so it’s really close to us. That’s where we are going to walk around today and pray we don’t get lost. There are tons of shops and restaurant along the road and the main city center is only about a 20 minute walk. And I was wrong about where my classes will be, they will actually be right in the city center which is even better! J I’m just really scared to actually venture amount and try to get back to our apartment lol it’s so confusing around here but Victor kept telling us how easy it is to navigate.
The Mosel River!!!! Beautiful!!!
Cars are so funny here; First of all I have not seen a single pickup truck or Van what so ever! And very few simple small cars, they are all hatchbacks, and I mean like every single one. Mercedes, Beamers, Volkswagens, Audis, and fords. Ford hatchbacks EVERYWHERE! And when we rode in Victors Mercedes they drive like crazy, the streets are narrow and confusing, there really isn’t road markings to tell us where to go and what to do and when there is I can’t understand it because it’s in German. Sooooo I will NOT be trying to drive around here for sure!!!
The Porta Nigra the old ciry gate
But I’m watching people walk by, they get off the train and walk by my apartment on the sidewalk, all bundled up. People are so interesting. It blows my mind that there are other places in the world that talk a different language, and barley can speak English. When we got on the train in the north station of Trier, all the children got on and it was so weird to hear all the little kids and older kids and then all the older people yelling and shouting and carrying on conversations in German. It’s such a weird and crazy experience that everyone needs to experience. It will give you a whole new respect for Home J
Snitzel with lettuce, cabbage, onion, tomato, cucumber and a special ranch type sauceLater on….
So we took a full walking tour of the main part of Trier today, and needles to say my legs are dead! The weather is beautiful, just had a medium jacket on and it was sunny (Which Elizabeth says is rare) we walked south of our apartment on the main road and looked all around, found a market and a couple different shops. The market was different and on every corner of the main street there is a pastry shop. It’s kind of like the way Starbucks is at home. But we did stop in and had a pasty for an early lunch and then we walked across the river and looked around, then ended up back at the market to get groceries. All the restaurants around here close at 2 for the afternoon and then don’t open up again till about 6 for dinner. Most people eat dinner here very late, like 8. Then they all have coffee and dessert in the the afternoon with people drinking coffee and eating ice cream! J I’m totally ok with this!
We stopped in at an Italian restaurant for lunch and our waiter spoke only Italian, so communication was rough! But we found and was able to read they had a 5 euro Pepperoni Pizza so we all ordered that and I had a “apfelschorle” which is half apple juice and half sparkling water which was delicious! We were expecting a small slice of pizza but ended up with a gigantic pizza the typical American size of a medium and it was the best pizza I have ever had! We ventured around all afternoon and walked a TON! Went into some shops, I bought a few things I needed and we finally were able to find a mall with a phone store in it and I purchased a Sims card for my phone so I can make local calls cheap! So now that we had that we were able to contact our other friends Richard, Kristin, and Tiffany that were here also! The night ended with a snitzel flatbread sandwich and a very long card game of uno! J
the train stopped at the station which is on the other side of it. THis is where we got off and our apartment is like 100 yards behind us here
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